Flexible pouches are currently known and used in the art, and are illustratively shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such flexible pouches have a pouch body formed by a sheet/sheets of laminate material sealed together to form a seam defining an inner peripheral edge of the pouch body. The sheets are sealed together so as to remain intact when the pouch is filled, and may also be configured to withstand a predetermined amount of external pressure associated with customary handling or occurrences, such as an incidental dropping of the pouch and the like. A fitment is mounted to the pouch body and sealed between the front and back sheets of material.
In instances where the pouch is filled with a carbonated beverage such as beer, or soda the dissolved carbon dioxide is released into the head space of the pouch when the fluid warms up to ambient temperature, substantially increasing the pressure of the head space of the pouch which in turn increases pressure on the seal surrounding the fitment. The increased pressure may lead to failure of the seal. Accordingly, it remains desirable to have a pouch wherein the stress of an expanding pouch body is directed away from the internal peripheral edge so as to maintain the integrity of the seam.